Disorderly Conduct

Michigan law codifies the crime of disorderly conduct at MCL 750.167. The law reaches persons who neglect their family, prostitutes, peeping toms, persons who illegally run a business, and those who are drunk, indecent or obscene, vagrants, beggars and loiterers. There are also sections of the law that apply to persons hunting while intoxicated and those who are disorderly where there is a funeral service.MCL 750.167 “Disorderly person” defined; subsequent violations by person convicted of refusing or neglecting to support family.

(1) A person is a disorderly person if the person is any of the following: (a) A person of sufficient ability who refuses or neglects to support his or her family. (b) A common prostitute. (c) A window peeper. (d) A person who engages in an illegal occupation or business. (e) A person who is intoxicated in a public place and who is either endangering directly the safety of another person or of property or is acting in a manner that causes a public disturbance. (f) A person who is engaged in indecent or obscene conduct in a public place. (g) A vagrant. (h) A person found begging in a public place. (i) A person found loitering in a house of ill fame or prostitution or place where prostitution or lewdness is practiced, encouraged, or allowed. (j) A person who knowingly loiters in or about a place where an illegal occupation or business is being conducted. (k) A person who loiters in or about a police station, police headquarters building, county jail, hospital, court building, or other public building or place for the purpose of soliciting employment of legal services or the services of sureties upon criminal recognizances. (l) A person who is found jostling or roughly crowding people unnecessarily in a public place. (2) When a person, who has been convicted of refusing or neglecting to support his or her family under this section, is then charged with subsequent violations within a period of 2 years, that person shall be prosecuted as a second offender, or third and subsequent offender, as provided in section 168, if the family of that person is then receiving public relief or support.

See also MCL 750.167a as to persons hunting with firearms while drunk or intoxicated. See also MCL 750.167d as to funeral, memorial service, viewing, procession or burial.

The penalty for these crimes is codified at MCL 750.168 and provides: (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person convicted of being a disorderly person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both. (2) A person convicted of being a disorderly person under section 167d is guilty of a felony punishable as follows: (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both. (b) If the person was previously convicted of violating section 167d, by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.

The punishment is a 90-day misdemeanor and provides for habitual offender status if neglect to support family is involved, as well as more serious penalties if offending the funeral / burial process.

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